Medical Marijuana Becomes Legal in New York State

New York is now the 23rd state to allow medical marijuana, now that Governor Cuomo has signed a bill into law. But it will be some time before patients will have access to the drug.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo signs the medical marijuana bill into law with help from Amanda Hauser. Her mother Mary Anne looks on from behind; to right is Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

Credit Gov. Cuomo's office

New York will now permit patients with diseases like cancer and AIDS to have access to some forms of medical marijuana. Governor Cuomo, who in the past opposed the idea, came around after several new regulations and restriction guarantees were written into the legislation.

“I feel confident that it gets us the best that medical marijuana has to offer,” Cuomo said. “In the most protected, controlled way possible.”

Under the law, the smoking of marijuana will be prohibited. A vaporizer can be used as an alternative. And Cuomo’s health department will have near total control of the program. The state health commissioner will determine which diseases are eligible for the treatment, and can completely shut down the program at any time.

One of the illnesses that is eligible for a marijuana based treatment is a rare severe seizure disorder that effects children. Amanda Hauser has the disorder, known as Dravet syndrome, and has to be on a what her mother calls a “brutally restricted” diet to help lessen the frequency of her seizures.

“I want to be a normal girl,” she told the audience gathered for the bill signing ceremony.

Amanda’s mother, Mary Anne Hauser, says the family was prepared to move to a state like Colorado, where an oil extracted from marijuana plants is legal, and shown to help ease the symptoms. Hauser says now, she won’t have to.

“The frequent seizures disrupt her in everything she does,” said Hauser. “From learning in the classroom to swimming in the pool.”

Patients like Amanda will still have to wait, though, for another year and a half, before they are allowed to legally buy the drug in New York. The new law mandates an 18 month delay in starting up the program, to give time for all of the regulations, including strict certification and record keeping, to be in place. All of the marijuana is to be home grown in state, and health officials say that will take time, as well.

Some advocates are concerned about the long lag time. Missy Miller, whose son, Oliver, also has Dravet’s syndrome, says a year and a half is “simply too long” to wait. Miller spoke in the final days of the legislative session.

“We don’t have the luxury of another year,” Miller. “Oliver is losing skills and becoming sicker and sicker from the hundreds of seizures that he has. He cannot take another year of this.”

Cuomo says he has concerns that if the program is not rolled out slowly under intensive oversight, then the drug could fall into the wrong hands. The use of marijuana, even for medical purposes, is still considered illegal under federal law.

Gov. Cuomo addresses the crowd gathered for the signing of the medical marijuana bill at the New York Academy of Medicine in New York City.

Credit Gov. Cuomo's office

“It’s considered a gateway drug,” said Cuomo, who said society “spends a lot of time and money” keeping young people away from drugs.

“We’re dealing with a heroin epidemic now that is highly problematic,” Cuomo said.

Advocates dispute that marijuana is a gateway drug. They say it’s been shown to be far less addictive than many other drugs.

Cuomo says the new law will not be a “proxy” for legalizing marijuana for recreational purposes. He says he is still against that.

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Some Central New York employers and employees might face a legal dilemma when the state’s medical marijuana program takes effect.

Partner at Tully Rinckey law firm in Syracuse Graig Zappia says the federal Controlled Substances Act still classifies marijuana as a Schedule I drug with “no accepted medical use.”

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Lawyer Graig Zappia says an employee who might be fired for using medical marijuana has no protection under federal statutes like the Americans With Disabilities Act. But, he says, the employee likely has recourse under state laws.

Zappia says both sides have to be wary of anything that might infringe on the rights of others. He says medical marijuana also introduces liabilities for doctors participating in the program. Zappia says health care providers will have to be very certain to just whom they’re prescribing the medication so they don’t run afoul of the law.

Governor Cuomo and the legislature have agreed to a limited medical marijuana program for patients with cancer, AIDS, and childhood seizure disorders. It will not allow the drug to be smoked. Cuomo, who had expressed reservations about allowing medical marijuana, says the bill will grant sick people access to the drug, while imposing limits that will prevent abuse of marijuana.